10/06/11 - Uzbek-German cooperation developing

The intergovernmental negotiations
on financial and technical cooperation between Uzbekistan and the
Federal Republic of Germany were held in Tashkent on 9 June.

The event was attended by the heads of ministries and
departments related to foreign economic relations, trade, investment,
economy, banking and finance, healthcare, tourism, education,
agriculture and water management, high technologies and construction
sectors, as well as companies of Uzbekistan and Germany.

Germany is an important trade partner of Uzbekistan in
Europe. It is an active investor in the Uzbek economy. With
participation of investors from Germany, investment projects worth over
EUR 1 billion in were realized. Relations between the two countries
are based on more than 100 documents of interstate, intergovernmental
and interdepartmental levels. Among them are the agreements on
cooperation in investment, financial and technical spheres,
privatization and state property management, as well as personnel
training.

In accordance with the Partnership and Cooperation
Agreement signed between Uzbekistan and the European Union preferential
treatment has been established in trade relations between the two
countries. The volume of trade between Uzbekistan and Germany has been
steadily growing. In 2010, this figure exceeded USD 483 million. There
are 114 joint ventures created with participation of German investors,
and 49 representative offices of German companies in Uzbekistan. They
operate in such areas as light industry, medicine and pharmaceuticals,
research, trade, agricultural processing, transportation of passengers
and goods, automotive services, etc.

In various sectors of economy of Uzbekistan, large
investment projects with participation of German banks are implemented.
The universities and research institutes of the two countries have
established a mutually beneficial partnership. Joint research is
conducted in industry, agriculture, natural resource management and
other areas.

At the talks in Tashkent, the guests from Germany got
acquainted with the privatization process in Uzbekistan, reforms in the
economy, favorable conditions and opportunities created in the free
industrial zone Navoi.

The negotiations also touched upon issues of development
and implementation of new joint projects, as well as investment, financial and technical cooperation, and promotion of direct contacts among businesses.